Title: Boogie Man
Posted: 09/06/12
Main Pairing: Martin Mystery & Diana Lombard
Rating: T

Disclaimer: I own what I own, nothing more, nothing less.

Summary: When Diana was young, she too was afraid of the boogie man. She was perfect, she was sweet, the best student with the best grades, the best daughter with the most sense. She had no reason to fear the man who took away the naughtiest of children, right? Well, she does. She's in love with her own step-brother, after all.

AN: I have been reading Martin Mystery fics lately, and there is a big lacking in them! I wanted to make my own contribution to that particular archive and here it is. It's a simple two part story consisting of a past and present scenario. Hope you all enjoy this little idea of mine!

PART ONE

"The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."
~Franklin D. Roosevelt

Sometimes I wonder why Daddy left Mommy and me. He always seemed so caring, so loving, so much like how I imagined my perfect prince to be. He would come home in time, he would kiss me goodnight, and he would always tell Mommy that he loved her more than the world itself. I used to be jealous of the bond that they shared, wanting my own prince to love me and tell me how perfect I was, but now all I can think about is what could have possibly happened to ruin their seemingly perfect relationship.

Mommy told me I was too young to understand, that someday I would understand that Daddy leaving would be for the best. "He's not the perfect prince we thought he was, sweetie." I remember her telling me. "He was a quickly judged book." She had added. I loved books ever since I could read, so I didn't quite understand what she meant by a quickly judged book. Did she mean that we didn't understand him? Or that we looked at him and judged him based on his cover. True enough, I do tend to over think things more often than not, so I could just be looking for some interesting and unique explanation than just looking at what was in front of me and basing my answer off of that. Could you blame me though? This was my dad.

I remember his jet black hair and his emerald green eyes, his pale white skin that reminded me so much of snow. His bright smile, his warm orbs, his big hands that lifted me into the air as he yelled "That's my little girl!". I missed him more than I let Mommy on, but I didn't want to see her sad. She cried so much when he left, locking herself in their room and only coming out to prepare my lunch and breakfast before going to school. It was as if she were on auto-pilot, and I didn't want a repeat of that anymore.

"Diana, are you ready?" My mother, Charlotte, called out, causing me to turn away from my bedroom window. It was sunny outside, with cumulous clouds surrounding the bright blue sky. How I wished for rain, thunder, lightning, storms, maybe even a tornado to appear before I went to sleep last night. The one time I actually put my faith in an illogical wish, I was disappointed. It was stupid of me to do anyway.

"Come on Annie, we're going to be late!" She added, causing me to sigh.

It's been a year since Daddy left, and here she was, back to her old happy self. I was so glad when I finally arrived in the kitchen one morning, and she was there. She was smiling at me and asking if I wanted bacon with my pancakes. Now, though, I felt guilty for wishing she would have just remained hauled up in her room. This stupid meeting wouldn't be happening if she never left the house. "Annie!"

"I'm coming!" I finally answered back, slipping my feet into the flats my mother bought me especially for this occasion. Why couldn't she just get the clue that I didn't want to meet this man she wanted to replace my father? Did she expect me to be the same perfect little Annie with any man she fell in love with? 'Daddy' was my only dad, and no other man was going to take his place!

"Diana Lombard," She began, using my whole name to emphasize her obvious impatience and irritation. "You better be down here by the count of five!" Mommy never used to get mad at me, never used to scold me. I was always a 'good girl', the perfect daughter, the pride of her life. Now, she tended to scold me quite often. The changes that happened ever since she met this Gerard character.

It never occurred to me that perhaps I was the problem.

I ran down the stairs, dressed in what my mom called my pretty clothes, knowing my mother was not joking about her threat. She was so excited for me to finally meet this Gerard person that she had been seeing for the past few months. I did not share her enthusiasm, for I still wished for my father to someday walk in our front doors once again and smile warmly at Mommy and me and say "Daddy's home" like he always used to.

"There you are." Mommy said, smiling as she saw me in my purple dress. "Now let's go, we're running late as it is." A sigh once again escaped my lips. I followed her out of the door and towards the car, scolding myself as I wished that the tornado was merely delayed and already on its way.

"Do I really have to meet him, Mommy?" I asked, adjusting the ribbon that held my hair up in a neat ponytail. "Maybe we could just—" The stern look she was giving me as she backed out of the garage left no room for questioning. We've had this discussion last night, and in the end she won. I hated the fact that she used her own happiness against me. I wanted her to be happy more than anyone, but why does my own happiness have to be the price? It. Is. Not. Fair.

"Diana, you'll like him." She said for probably the hundredth time. "He's a lot like you, loves to read, very reasonable…" Blah, blah, blah, it wasn't anything that I haven't heard before. "Gerard is intelligent Annie!" She had told me once. "He's so different from your father!" I didn't want anyone who wasn't my father! Why couldn't she just understand that it was way too soon for me?!

"He has a son a few months older than you…" Yeah, I wouldn't just get a new dad. I would get a new brother too. An older one at that. I never wanted an older brother, heck, I never wanted a brother! I prayed and dreamed of a little sister that looked like me. A younger me that I could tutor and play dolls with. We'd both me Mommy and Daddy's little angels, and I wouldn't be an only child anymore either.

Looking out of the window, I look up at the cumulous clouds once again. I remember when Daddy would take me to the park and make images with me. He told me that the figures I saw were just my imagination, that maybe seeing the images I created with the clouds would be like a peek into my inner most thoughts.

Right now, all I could see was a blob in the sky. I used to look up and view bears, butterflies, and star shaped clouds passing by. Daddy, in turn, would see books, and slides, and he would often claim that he would see his precious little Annie among the figures too. I used to laugh and punch him lightly for that, telling him to stop teasing me, but all he would do was look at me and say I was right. That I deserved to be part of the stars and not of the clouds. Oh how I wish that my very own prince would tell that to me someday too.

"Mommy," I suddenly said, seemingly cutting off her rant of how perfect her new boyfriend was. "What do you see when you look up at the clouds?" A random question from her perspective, a very logical and expected one from my own mind's view. Maybe, if she answered my question honestly, I could tell what she really wanted to come out of this little meet up that she and Gerard scheduled.

"Uhm…" My mother began, looking up slightly into the sky before turning her eyes on the road once again. "I can't really take a good look at them right now, honey." Again, for the third time within the hour, I sighed.

A couple of minutes later, we arrived at a random hotel like place called "The Peninsula". I heard from people from school that it had the best ice cream in the world. That they served something called a 'Cookie Overload' that was like an ice cream sandwich with Oreos. I really didn't quite understand the concept, but maybe I could have that for dessert later on. I rarely asked my mom for stuff, so I was quite confident she would allow me.

"Okay Annie, you know the drill." Mom suddenly said, making me face her as she parked the car.

"Be on my best behavior, don't run around, show my manners, and talk with respect even if I don't like him." My mom was not pleased by how I ended the sentence, but I did state all of her basic rules. She nodded her head in agreement and unbuckled her seatbelt to get out of the car. I did the same of course, and locked the door before I closed it. Looking around, the parking lot looked pretty normal.

"Annie" My mother called out, making me rush and follow her towards the staircase that lead to the lobby (and most probably the restaurant as well). I guess I judged the place to easily, so I was a bit shocked when I saw the marble staircase that we passed. I have only ever seen one on television, so seeing one in real life was sort of a 'star shock' moment for me if that made any sense.

The lobby itself was a sight to be seen, with its velvet carpets, marble pillars, and mirror like ceilings decorated with grand chandeliers. "Oh! Charlotte!" I heard someone call out, immediately alerting me to the fact the Gerard person was already here. The way he spoke made him sound so excited to see my mother, it reminded me of how dad said her name whenever he saw her cooking when he got home.

"Gerard!" My mother called out. "I feel so sorry for making you and Martin wait!" I watched as my mother walked towards a blonde man with tanned skin. His light hair and dark-ish skin was the total opposite of my father that I sort of got annoyed. Did my mom hate my dad so much that she got his immediate opposite and fell in love with him? Also, who was this Martin that my mother was suddenly talking about?

"It's no big hassle." I heard Gerard answer, walking slowly to my mother's sad. "So where is this Diana that I keep hearing so much about?" So my mother has talked about me huh? That was both good and bad to know. It was annoying how this stranger knew so much about me when I knew so little about him. Then again, that was probably my fault for not listening to my mother's many rants.

I placed a wide smile on my face as I pretended to skip merrily towards my mother's direction. I stopped at her side and looked up at the man with shining eyes filled with innocence. "Hello!" I greeted cheerily, extending my hand as I flashed my pearly whites ( I floss religiously). "My name is Diana Lombard, you must be Gerard." I continued on, the blonde man smiling at me with obvious enjoyment in his eyes. It seemed as if he was rather impressed by me, like all the other adults I've met in my life.

"Well aren't you just precious." He continued on, and my smile faltered.

"I am not an object, therefore I can't be precious." I suddenly spoke out, without thinking, to the horror of my mother. "I am also not of any value like diamonds, and I am also not rare for humans, last time I checked, are a very common species." After finishing my short speech, my eyes widened as I covered my mouth and lowered my head. Great job Diana, I scolded myself as my mom was apologizing to Gerard for my words.

To my, and I'm pretty sure my mother's, shock, Gerard merely laughed. "It's quite alright." He said, patting my head and causing me to look up and meet his eyes. "I like her attitude, and she is right after all. She has too much spunk to be precious." Not that I wanted this man to be my new dad and all, but I was beginning to like him. Mom was right, he was a lot like me.

"So, Diana," Gerard began. "I hear you like to read."

My eyes immediately widened in joy as books were mentioned. A room had to be converted into my own library due to all of my reading material. "I love to read!" I corrected him. "Currently I'm reading William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night and I actually just finished Romeo and Juliet!" I continued. "I find that tragic love story idiotic. Romantic because of Romeo and Juliet's love, but stupid and idiotic because Juliet is obviously—"

"Oh! I just read about this in Paranormal Monthly!" A boy suddenly shouted, earning the attention of all those who heard him. He seemed to be talking to two women who were previously discussing something. "I'm sure that if it's following you and the noises don't stop, it's obviously poltergeist activity. It is just haunting you right? Not your room or your house or anything?" A groan escaped Gerard's mouth, and realizing it now, this boy did look a lot like him. Oh, was this the Martin my mom was talking about? Was he also Gerard's son?

"Uhm…" The woman tried to speak, but the boy just kept on talking. "Well, it could also be a physical manifestation of your doppelganger! That would be so cool! Do you have any recordings or—"

"Martin!" Ah, so I was right. This boy is Martin and this boy is Gerard's son. My mother smiled as Gerard walked towards Martin. His face was apologetic as he apologized to the women for his son's behavior, When they smiled and shook their heads though, he turned his, now, stern gaze towards Martin. The boy in question just cast his head down and obviously sighed. It seemed like he was used to this type of thing.

I looked up at mother to see her looking at me sternly as well, obviously I was in for a little scolding for that outburst earlier. "Diana, be polite." She said. "It's a good thing he really is a lot like you and…" I zoned out again and turned towards Martin. There was something about him that made me want to get to know him. He was so far from my prince charming with the dark hair, fair skin, and bright eyes, yet still there was something about him that screamed for me to get to know him.

Without thinking, I walked forward and left my mother.

Gerard was scolding him, and he seemed so bored just looking at the floor rather than his dad. I sort of knew how that felt like since my mom was scolding me only moments ago, but I also felt like if anyone would be able to relate to me, it would be him. If his dad was with my mom, then his mom must be gone from their family as well. I was pretty close now, so I could hear Gerard scolding him about whatever 'balderdash' was.

"Hi," I suddenly greeted, interrupting Gerard's sermon and smiling as Martin looked up at me. "My name's Diana, what's yours?" Of course I knew it was Martin, but it would be rude to just out right call him that.

Martin smiled as he took my outstretched hand, obviously pleased that I distracted his father from continuing on with his scoldings. I smiled back at him, and I was sure that the both of us got the hidden messages in our actions. "Mystery, Martin Mystery." He continued, and I couldn't help but giggle.

"I'm a Bond fan too." I state, and his smile widens as we take our hands away.

"So, Diana," He suddenly says. "What do you know about ghosts?" My eyes widened in fear as a shiver ran down my spine. It was obvious that I didn't like them, and it seemed like he figured it out too due to my reaction. I've had bad experiences with ghosts, most of them due to pranks pulled on me by kids at school. Before I could say anything about it though, Martin cut me off. "Don't worry, I'll protect you from them if you want." He winked at me after stating that, and I smiled again.

"Yeah, I'd want that." I heard my mother and Gerard call for Martin and I, and we both ran towards them as they lead us to the table we were going to eat at. Sitting down and looking at Martin, I thought that maybe having an older brother wouldn't be so bad after all.

"Morality was Rationality" Immanuel Kant stated once, and I couldn't help but disagree more. Morality was different from rationality. Morality was what kept you from being the perfect logical being. Morality was what always turned rationality down in the end. Morality is the one thing that makes us capable of knowing right from wrong. In short, basically, morality is what makes us human to begin with.

How I wish it did not exist.

Not only was morality the one thing holding many people back from true happiness, but it was also the stupid thing that made you feel guilty when you did something that, though was completely rational, was frowned upon by society. I think that morality is just another form of peer pressure. The worries of how other people would think, the fact that many would think it wrong. I considered myself a completely logical and rational person, yet here I am being held back from doing what I want and expressing my feelings due to morals

Gerard and mom have been married for a good two years now, and Martin and I have considered ourselves friends. He treated me how an older brother treated a younger sister, and that basically meant teasing and tormenting me, but at the same time taking care and looking out for me. Gerard was pretty proud of the way Martin took care of me, though it was hidden away by all the annoyance he felt for Martin's love of the unexplainable and paranormal. I didn't believe a lot of what Martin would say (in fact sometimes I logically explained to him how some things just downright could not exist), but not to the extent of wanting to disown him, which I'm sure Gerard regretted thinking the moment he did.

I felt guilty though, that for the years we've known each other I have never, ever, considered Martin a brother. I cared for him, and I loved that he took care of me, but my final grip on sanity practically pleaded for me to always remember that we weren't related, that we were merely step-siblings and not actually blood bounded by any rules. So far, I have kept from being insane, but I can't say I completely don't find my feelings right either.

I was in love with my step-brother, probably from the moment I met him, and no matter what I fought back about us not being related or the fact that I fell in love before the marriage, it would still be wrong. Even if just by paper, Martin and I are siblings. It would always be wrong to the eyes of many, no matter how much I wished that it wouldn't be.

Martin knew nothing about my feelings, and I planned to keep it that way. I have no idea if he feels the same way, and I don't ever want to know the answer to that. I loved him, yes, but for all I know my feelings could change. I am just ten years old, and a lot could change over the years.

All of these thoughts were running like a bullet train inside my brain as I pretended to read in the garden. I had a copy of Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, and though I was staring at the book intently, I was not actually digesting any words or understanding anything from it. Last I checked, Mister Darcy and Lizzie were fighting, but in the page I currently was, they were in love. Obviously, my brain has been wandering for far too long.

This was the reason why I missed school so much. It was my escape. Burying myself in my school work and school books allowed me to at least stop thinking of the forbidden feelings I harbored for my step-brother, even if it was just for a little while. Martin just took it as me being the ever perfect Annie that my mom and Gerard love. I find it hard to call him dad, but do when I speak to him or when my mom was nearby.

With so much free time on my hand, I found myself zoning out and thinking about my feelings more and more. How I shouldn't act on them, how it was taboo to have them. Then after trying to prove myself that I was turning into a lunatic, thoughts of Martin would invades my mind and I would just find myself falling for him all over again. Then again, I am just ten, so it could be a simple crush.

Yeah, crushes can last for years on right?

"Martin will you stop this non-sense!" I heard Gerard shout from the garage, immediately making me drop my book and rush over. Not another fight, these were getting rather annual now. I felt guilty by how much dad wished Martin would be more like me, but it actually would benefit him to change a bit. It might also benefit me to a degree. Maybe if he changed, this stupid crush would fade away too.

Catching my breath and peaking into the garage, I saw Martin holding up a pair of three dimension glasses. Both of the lenses were covered with green cellophane paper, making them seem like something out of Martin's comic books. Gerard stood tall and proud over Martin as he glared at his son, the ten year old boy glaring back at him with just as much hatred.

I wouldn't describe Gerard and Martin's relationship as unhealthy, they both just weren't compatible. That thought made me slightly sad, especially because I was a lot like Gerard. Both of them not being compatible would usually mean Martin and I couldn't be either. It's just that the two of us manage to get along.

"The Boogie Man doesn't exist, Martin!" Gerard shouted, Martin just continuing to glare. I remember Martin telling me that he and his dad went on a lot of adventures before. Going to Africa and capturing worms and monkeys and other stuff. In fact, if he hated my mom, it was the fact she took that away from him. Now that his dad could leave him home, their adventures tended to lessen and lessen. "He's a stupid monster created by adults to scare children!"

"How are you so sure?!" Martin countered back. "Just because you've never seen him, doesn't mean he doesn't exist!" I guess that Martin could be telling the truth. My dad used to tell me stories about the Boogie Man too, but I guess I was too young to actually understand. I always thought he was the monster who hid under my bed, but I grew out of that phase pretty fast too. Mom got mad at him for that one.

"I know, for a fact, that he isn't real." Gerard said, trying to calm down. He was still heavily pissed though. "Because if he were, he would have taken you already!" I was shocked as I turned towards Martin. Though some people wouldn't consider this anything serious, Martin actually believed in stuff like this. His own father saying that he should have been taken by any of his paranormal conspiracy theories, that was sure to hurt him. Though Martin didn't show it often, he did seek Gerard's approval.

"I bet you wouldn't even notice if I was taken!"

Martin ran in the house after shouting that, me chasing after him immediately. Maybe Gerard had a point about Martin's beliefs, but I guess he shouldn't be so harsh with him. Forcing your beliefs on someone was bad, and I already gave up on Martin turning into anything like me. Martin was Martin, Diana was Diana, just like a table will always be a table. You can paint it and cover it up all you want, but it will always just be a table.

Running up the stairs, I heard Martin slam his bedroom door when I just managed to make it to the hallway. His room was always forbidden to everyone, and even I haven't gone in there. Will he get mad if I go in? I wondered, standing in front of the door. I don't like people going into my room, so obviously he wouldn't either right? I raised my hand to knock, but I thought against it and just plopped down in front of the door. Maybe if I just waited for him.

I pulled my knees to my chest and rested my head atop them. My brown hair was covering my face as I closed my eyes and thought about what I was going to say. I really did just blindly chase him without even knowing what the Boogie Man really was, how was I going to comfort him by saying "I'm sure the Boogie Man would never take you" if I don't even know what it was the Boogie Man took anyways.

Sighing, I wondered if I should just stand up and leave. Would he even want to talk to me about it? I've helped him out of 'dad problems' before, but it wasn't like I did anything big. Martin would just say me caring was enough for him, and that he would get over it cause he knew Gerard meant it in his own loving way.

"What am I doing?" I whisper, standing up and dusting my shorts. Just when I was about to walk back down and get back to my book that I was failing to read, the door to Martin's room suddenly opened.

"You could have just knocked if you were worried, Dai." He spoke, making me jump and turn around to face him. He really wasn't all that different since when I met him. Just taller and with spikier blonde hair. Also, he was eleven now. "You're allowed in my room, everyone doesn't include you." I had the urge to correct him and say everyone included me and even him, but I suppressed it. He didn't really need more logic and reasoning at the moment. He just needed someone to listen.

"Then, you can go in my room too." I said, smiling. "Just as long as you knock first." I added.

He laughed at my final words as he widened the gap to allow me to enter. I imagined what it would be like to be in Martin's room, but the moment I stepped foot in it, the only instinct that settled in was the need to clean. "Martin, do you ever clean your room?" I ask, looking at the scattered clothes and comic books. "Don't you trip on your own stuff or something?" I just heard the click of the door closing from behind me.

"As long as Dad doesn't come in and forces me to clean, why should I?" I decided not to answer that, thinking of a way to cheer him up. Talking about Gerard would just make him all the more sad, and so, as I sat on his bed (or at least what looked like his bed, it was hard to tell due to all the clothes), I decided to do something that I could very much end up regretting in the up and coming future.

"Martin, what's the Boogie Man?"

My step-brother's eyes lit up like Christmas lights at the mention of the thing, and I smiled. At least, for now, he forgot about the problem at hand. "How do you not know what it is Dai?" Martin asked, taking a seat beside me. We were both sitting Indian style on his bed and facing each other. "Didn't your mom scare you with him?" He continued on. I was about to say my Daddy had mentioned it once, but he beat me to it.

"What am I even saying?!" He said, whacking his head lightly as a joke. "You're Diana Lombard." Was that an insult or a compliment? I couldn't quite tell. "You're too good to be scared with the Boogie Man. It wouldn't work." Now what was that supposed to mean?

Martin must have noticed my confusion, for he began to explain properly after that.

"The Boogie Man," He began. "Is the most feared entity by children ever since before our time." How specific, but I held back my comments. The situation did not call for it. "It's known to come to you when you're asleep, from out of your bed and grab you to bring you to the Boogie World. He only takes naughty children though, so it's pretty understandable why Dad would say I would have gotten taken and you wouldn't." If only you knew how naughty I was Martin. My feelings for you were sin enough to have gotten me executed.

"How do you know he's real, Marty?" I ask, deciding to use my nickname for him. He didn't particularly like it, but since I was his little sister, he allowed me to call him that. I guess some benefits come with the position, even if they were pretty few.

"Because in Paranormal Monthly," Ah, of course it would lead back to this. "There were examples of children who went missing! I even searched them on the internet and it was all true!" Okay, that freaked me out a little bit. "Look, I'll show you." He stood up from the bed and grabbed the laptop from his table. When he sat back down in front of me, he had the article loaded and ready to read.

"This one is about a girl named Susie Johnson." He said. "She was taken one night and up until now she hasn't been found." Reading through the article, I couldn't help but feel a little bit scared. This girl has been missing for who knows how long, and it was legitimate too. Her parents filed a missing person's report, there was a search party, and there was no evidence. This was not a case to be taken lightly, but my brain still thought that it could have been a kidnapping or that she could have runaway.

There must have been some fear or uncertainty on my face, because the next thing I knew, Martin layed his hand on my shoulder. "Don't worry Dai," He said. "You're too perfect for him to get you." He continued on. Any adult would have agreed with him, but no one else knew me better than me. Diana is Diana.

"Besides," Martin continued, keeping his hand on my shoulder as an act of comfort. "I made a promise to you the first time I met you," Oh, yes, I remember that very well. "I'd keep you safe and protect you from these things." Hearing the words come out of Martin's mouth made me smile, but I knew that if the Boogie Man were true, he would never be able to protect me. I had my own room after all, and he used beds as portals.

"But Marty—"

"Diana, Martin!" I heard my mom suddenly call out. "Time for dinner!" Looking out the window, I didn't realize that it had gotten so dark. Then again, it was that time in Canada when nights were beginning to become longer than nights. So, for all we know, it could just be half past five.

Dinner that night was uneventful. Mom and Gerard shared all of the conversation, while Martin and I chose to remain silent. The tension was obvious, but no one said anything about it. Neither father nor son apologized to the other, and as the goodie two shoes that Martin proclaimed me to be, I said nothing till the end of the meal. Expectedly, when everyone was done and all the dishes were placed in the washer, Martin and I dashed to our rooms and got ready for bed. Nothing interesting would be happening tonight anyways.

Getting under the blankets and fixing my pillows to my desired position, I couldn't help but think of the Boogie Man that Martin told me about. I layed my head on my purple pillow and stared at the ceiling as my thoughts drifted towards Susie Johnson and her missing body. Could it be possible that she was taken to the Boogie World? Could it be that maybe, even if it was just this once, Martin was right? Would he take me if he knew about my feelings? Would he still think my feelings naughty? I was pretty sure that the last one was a yes.

Pushing the thoughts far away into the depths of my head, I closed my eyes and began to count sheep. I imagined the pillow like animals jumping over a fence as my voice began to count them as they jumped. It was an effective method for me to end up asleep.

One, Two, Three, Four, Five…

I watched as the cute, cartoon like animals all jumped and jumped, growing in amount as I began to doze off. They were getting hazy as they slowed their jump and began to fade away. Sleep was beginning to take me, and I knew that in about a minute I would be in dream world.

Thirty, Thirty-One, Thirty-Two…

Suddenly, my bed began to shake underneath me. I was so close to falling asleep, so close to escaping reality and be inside my paradise, but the sudden disturbance woke me up all the more. I sat up abruptly on my bed and looked around. The room was shaking, but the books and knick knacks weren't falling off of my shelves nor my study table. My table wasn't moving, nor was my chair. My bed was the only thing shaking.

"Ahh!" I shouted, hiding under the blanket as I waited for the shaking to stop. What was going on? My mind refused to allow me to believe that it was the Boogie Man, so I tried to think of a more reasonable explanation. Maybe Martin was pulling a prank to scare me? No, it would have been more creative than this. Mom or Gerard? No, they didn't think scaring children was a good way of disciplining them. My imagination? That could work, but I don't think I was smart enough to actually capable of mind over matter.

"Diana…" I heard someone whisper, and I realized that my bed had ceased from moving.

"Diana…" It continued, the voice raspy and creepy. Sounding as if it were merely a trick of the wind noises.

"Who are you?!" I ask, shouting out as I hug the blanket closer and shut my eyes. "Go away! My brother will come right through those doors and scare you away." I was ten and scared, you couldn't possibly expect me to come up with a sensible answer, could you?

"No one can save you now, Diana." The voice continued on, and I just knew that a shadow was already looming over me. I didn't need to open my eyes to feel the chill that ran down my spine as the temperature just seemed to drop dramatically. "You know who I am." He continued on. "I take naughty children." He added. "I'm going to take you to my home Diana, where all naughty children get their punishments."

"I'm a good girl, I'm a good girl…" I kept on chanting to myself, like a mantra. If I said it enough times, he would go away. He wouldn't take me. He would leave me alone and I would take away the blankets to see nothing. "I'm a good girl, I'm a good girl…" I continued, but when something cold and hard suddenly took hold of my shoulder, all logic and reason fled from my braid as I shouted.

"MARTIN!" I shouted, hoping that he would keep his promise and protect me. "MARTIN!" I continued on.

The hard hand on my shoulder would not go away as I continued to shout and thrash, refusing to open my eyes out of fear. What if I froze if I looked at him? No. I just needed to keep on calling for him, and he would come. "MARTIN! MARTIN HELP!" I just shouted and shouted.

"Diana…" It was the Boogie Man saying my name, I just knew it.

"Diana…" Go away! Go away! I want Martin! Martin would save me!

"Diana!"

My eyes snapped open and I was shocked to see not the Boogie Man in front of me, but Martin Mystery himself. "Diana what's going on?" He asked, worry in his eyes as tears spilled from mine. I was so scared, so terrified. It was all a dream, but it felt so real. Martin saved me like he promised to. "Diana? Are you okay?" I didn't answer as I tackled him and hugged him without mercy.

I sobbed and sobbed as Martin wrapped his arms around me, hugging me close to him as I cried. "I – I – I was s—so scared!" I managed to get out, hiding my face in his shoulders as I got his pyjama shirt soaked. "He – he wa—was here! The Boo—Boogie Ma—Man!" I added, and Martin just tightened his hold on me.

"It was just a dream Dai, I'm here now." He whispered to me, laying us both on my bed as he covered us with blankets. "I'll protect you, don't worry." I trusted him with my life, but still I couldn't stop crying. I looked into his warm brown eyes as he wiped my tears away and smiled.

"Sorry I didn't knock," He suddenly said. "You were shouting my name, so I thought manners could be forgotten for now." I managed to let out a small giggle for that one, and he smiled wider. His plan of making me laugh had worked, and again I couldn't help but love him. How could I not? Not only was he my goofy step-brother that knew how to make me laugh, he was my knight in shining armor now too.

"You'll never…know…" I whisper, smiling as I knew the Boogie Man wouldn't be taking me anywhere as long as Martin was around. He wouldn't be grabbing me and taking me to his world cause I had my own protector to save me from his evil clutches.

So that was Part Numero Uno of this story! The second and last part would be a sort of remake of the first episode (The Boogie Man Arc), so please do wait for that patiently. Hopefully you liked this part though. There's not a lot of Martin & Diana here, but in the next one there will be a lot. This is just sort of the Prologue to the next one, cause I needed a back story. This actually turned out a lot longer than I thought! Originally I planned this to be no more than three thousand words, and I ended up making a six thousand plus word chapter! Hope you all like it anyway, cause I sure as hell enjoyed writing it!

Leave a review, suggestion, critic on the review board below to tell me what you thought! Add to favourites or follow if you want, but feedback would be most appreciated.

Also, I apologise for any grammatical errors that you may find. I don't have a BETA and only proofread my own work. Feel free to point them out to me and I will edit it when I have the time. Thank You!

~*..*~*..*~Reignstein~*..*~*..*~